🥧🍗🥂 The Holidays Are Coming – How Do You Plan To Support Yourself? 🥧🍗🥂

Don’t Wait To Feel Good

I hear it a lot at this time of year…In the new year I’m gonna…eat better, exercise, make time to relax, spend more time with friends, take a break from drinking… (you get the picture).  But why wait?  Every moment is a chance for a fresh start and a chance to make choices to support you.  Because the world needs a balanced resilient you to contribute whatever it is that you contribute in your way.

Don’t wait for the new year to start some new habits or to do more of the things you already know make you feel great.  Don’t let stress, anxiety or overwhelm stop you from choosing to do something good for yourself.  Life is too precious to wait on doing something so you can feel good.

This was a big lesson for me when I was done with undergrad.  When I was in college I struggled with my sinuses, immune system, low energy, and back pain.  The story in my head was that when I was done with school, THEN I would be able to do the things to enjoy my life and help myself feel better.  Once I was done with school I woke up out of that story and I told myself I’d never do that again–put off living the life I want to live or go to school.  The never go to school again part is funny because I went on to get my Master’s in Chinese Medicine.  Of course it wasn’t school that was stopping me from enjoying life and being healthy, it was my gripped stressful thinking that made it sound like a good idea to put off doing things I enjoy and contribute to my wellbeing. 

All this is to say you are worth making time for doing things for your wellbeing, even as the end of year holiday activities ramp up.  Not only does it feel good, but the world needs more people who are in balance and contributing to what they feel called to, in their special way.

---

Holiday Eating & Drinking Support

A lot of patients have been telling me that they are focusing on cherishing time with family, friends, and community right now, and looking forward to the end of year holidays.  As we enter holiday time it’s good to set ourselves up for success for all the abundance headed our way–gratitude, gifting, celebrations, and especially abundant eating and drinking.  Here at Thrive we think one of the benefits of being healthy is that you can consciously choose to indulge here and there, and still come back to balance easily.  If you are working on a specific health challenge or goal, now is not the time to indulge.  But if you’re feeling pretty good, moderation of all things, including moderation sometimes, is healthy.

Folks that are overly rigid about what they eat don’t get all the benefits because stress undoes a lot of the benefits of healthy eating.  And folks that eat whatever they want, but then beat themselves up also have stress degrading their body.  So it’s good to be real about where you are at, make conscious decisions for health and pleasure, and then make sure you have support so you can come back to balance easily.

If you are going to consciously indulge in that rich holiday meal, treat, cocktail, desert–or all four–how do you plan to support your body?  Here’s 5 tips that will support you through celebratory eating:

1. 💧 Stay well hydrated.  Aim to drink between 80 ounces to 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water a day.  And make sure you get some electrolytes or natural salts in there so all the water doesn’t just wash through you.
2. 🍽️ Don’t starve yourself in anticipation of big meals.   That will make it harder to make any good decisions and cause your blood sugar to spike.  Make sure to eat some fat and protein in the meals leading up a to a big meal to help stabilize blood sugar.
3. 🫖 Fresh ginger tea is supportive to digestion before and after rich meals.  Cut a few slices of fresh ginger and boil it in water for 5 minutes.  The fibers from the ginger are really good for your digestive system so that’s why it’s worth it to use fresh ginger.
4. 💪 Keep moving.  Plan some exercise to start the day and you’ll not only feel like you’re starting the day healthy, you’ll also most likely make better choices throughout the day.  Exercise is funny that way.  The more we exercise, the more we tend to make healthy choices.  Invite friends and family to go for a walk after a meal together.  You may be met with some resistance at first, but I’ve never heard anyone say “I wish I didn’t take that walk after dinner.”
5. 🌿💊 Stock up on simple Chinese herbal pills to get your digestion back in balance.  We have 2 options of our favorite pills to support digestion: Microgard Micropills or Ease Digestion Pills.  They’re both so helpful for any kind of digestive upset that every acupuncturist and herbalist has one of these ready in their medicine cabinet, first aid kit, purse, and in the car.  I always have extra around the holidays–yes I’m the one that brings the digestion pills and sets them out with the drinks, at the end of the buffet, or even just on the dining table–and my friends and family have learned to do the same.

Option 1: Microgard Micropills

What are they?  They’re a Chinese Medicine herbal pill that’s good for all kinds of digestive imbalances that are common during the holidays including: upset stomach, indigestion, heartburn, overeating, hangover, bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and even food poisoning (hopefully that’s not happening during the holidays).

If you’ve been with us for a while you probably know that we used to sell Curing Pills. We’ve replaced them with Microgard because it’s higher quality with imperial grade herbs (the highest grade) and we’ve found them to be more effective.  

How can they be good for so many things?  Unlike western medications that are specific for certain kinds of digestive imbalances, Microgard Micropills don’t move your digestion in a specific direction, instead they regulate your digestion back to harmony.  That is why their traditional Chinese name translates to Preserve Harmony Pills.  The modern herbalists say they are so effective they will absolve you of your dietary sins.

Here’s how we recommend taking Microgard:

• Prevention (I know I’m going to eat a bunch of rich food or My eyes were bigger than my stomach): 10-20 Micropills before or after a meal.
• Upset Stomach (As soon as I can tell something I ate or drank did not agree with me or I realize I really overdid it):  10-20 Micropills now, 10-20 More every hour for the next 3 hours if things aren’t feeling good yet.
• General Digestive Imbalance (My digestion is moving slower or faster than normal and I just realized it’s been happening for a few days): 10-20 Micropills 3 Times/Day for a day or two, often right before one of your meals.

10-20 Pills?!?!?!  Yup they are teeny tiny MICROpills.  Microgard micropills come in a vial of a bunch of teeny tiny round micropills, because if you have digestive upset you might not want to take a bigger pill.  They are so tiny that we recommend to make it easy on yourself you count out your desired dosage (10 or 20 micropills) in the cap and notice how much they fill up the cap; then in the future you can simply poor them into the cap until you can see it has your dose without having to count them each time.

Pro-Tip: This product is minimally processed and has no preservatives so to keep it potent it’s best to keep it in a cool dry place, or refrigerate it if you’re not going to use it up within a month or two.
 
Option 2:  Ease Digestion Pills

They are similar to Microgard but they are larger pills that are shelf stable for longer and less expensive, because it’s good to have options. The Microgard is a stronger product, but it’s a little more finicky to use and store and if that is going to prevent you from using it, it’s not going to be effective.

Ease Digestion comes as a bottle of medium pills that you take as 2 pills at a time.  We have small and large bottles–yup some patients love it so much they buy the large bottle.  So everywhere above that it says the dosage is 10-20 micropills, you instead take 2 pills of Ease Digestion.

Stock Up Now

We have Microgard and Ease Digestion Pills in stock.  They’re so good for any kind of digestive complaint that they’re great to have on hand any time of year, and especially around the holidays, for you or your family and friends to bring you back to digestive harmony.  Christina likes to bring them to share and sets them out with the holiday spread.  You might be surprised who’s interested in herbs to support their digestion.

Just tell us you want some and ask us any questions at your next appointment.  Or swing on by to pick some up.  If you’re coming by without an appointment, it’s best to call or email ahead of time with your ETA to check that we won’t be at lunch or out running an errand.

---

Instagram

We’re finally getting hip and are posting on instagram as well as facebook–whoops I think I just dated myself by saying that we’re getting hip.

Find us here for something positive, helpful, and sometimes funny in the socials: https://www.instagram.com/thrive.acupuncture/
https://www.facebook.com/ThriveAcupunctureAndWellness

We’ve recently recommitted to posting regularly in hopes of sharing a little Chinese Medicine Wisdom and spreading good vibes.

---

What We’re Treating In The Clinic – Fall Allergies, Recovery From Colds & Flus, Boosting Immune Systems

This fall so many patients have reported a flare up of allergies recently–congestion, post nasal drip, cough, itchy eyes, foggy head…  I think it’s due to the dramatic shifts from the extra late extra hot heat wave, to cold dry fall weather, to rain rain rain.  In the past few weeks I have seen several long lost patients who came in saying they were so congested they had to do something.  The good news is that they all had really quick symptom relief.  Acupuncture and herbs are great at treating allergy symptoms and changing the pattern of overreaction from your immune system so you can get back to balance.

And there’s a cold going around that often has lingering congestion and cough.  Patients report they think they are done and then it flares up again and they worry they got something else.  Of course Covid is also going around and some people have lingering symptoms of all sorts after that.  While you are sick and contagious get in touch so you can get some herbs to take at home, and once you’ve turned the corner and are not contagious anymore, come on in for acupuncture and more herbs to clear out that phlegm and get your energy back.

Then there are those extra smart patients that know they want extra support for their immune system as the seasons change, they have travel plans, or they start to feel stress or overwork wearing them down.  A little secret–acupuncture and herbs work best as preventative medicine!  

If you want support treating allergies, recovering from colds and flus, or want some preventative care, you  can make an appointment at our online booking site or get in touch.  

If you want to be ready with herbs and supplements on hand, check out our recommendations we’ve been sharing for the past 4+ years called the Golden Window For Treating Viruses–because if you treat viruses preventatively or as soon as you feel symptoms it’s surprisingly effective for preventing a virus from taking hold or reducing symptoms and duration.

👉🔗 You can find the link for the Golden Window For Treating Viruses Handout here: https://thrive-acupuncture.com/the-golden-window-for-treating-viruses/.  The handout includes a link to our online pharmacy for the things you can’t get in our clinic.  Take a look and let us know if you want help creating a plan that will work for you.